Striker for latches



Nov. 13, 1934. w. SCHNELL STRIKER FOR LATCHES 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed O Ct. 28. 1952 INVENTOR /ffw/ff/f BY Md/ MM /5 ATroRNEYs Patented Nov. 13, 1934 1,980,295 STRIKER Fon LATCHES William Schnell, Detroit, Mich., assigner to Ternstedt Manufacturing Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application October 28, 1932, Serial No. 640,044

4 Claims.

This invention relates to latches for doors or other swinging closures, and it aims to provide an in'iprovementI especially iitted for use oncabinets such as kitchen cabinets or refrigerators or other articles of furniture.

More particularly this invention is directed to the provision of an improved striker or similar element designed to cooperate with a latch member which may be in the nature of a bolt, it being understood that one of the elements, for example the striker, is to be attached to a fixed portion bounding an opening, while the other element, for example the bolt, is to be attached to the swinging closure or door ior closing the opening. The following detailed description is directed to, and the accompanying drawings illustrate, a latch involving a striker and bolt like member for cooperating therewith of a type advantageously used on refrigerating cabinets.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a striker of novel construction which may be attached to the cabinet by such means as wood screws, machine screws, bolts or the like, and which, due to the particular structural arscrews or bolts. To this end the striker may be composed of at least two parts, one of which is designed to be secured directly to the cabinet by the means of the screws or bolts, and the other of which forms the striker proper. These two members are constructed for inter-connection so that the striker may be connected to and placed over the member which is secured to the cabinet. In this manner a striker of improved appearance is provided which may have any suitable design either as to contour or surf-ace ornamentation, and which design is not broken or depreciated by visible screw or bolt heads.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a View showing in plan a latch involving a striker constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-'2 of Fig. 1 showing the striker member.

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the striker member. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the underside of the striker.

Fig. 5 is a perspective of a member which may 5 be secured directly to the cabinet and which may ,be termed an anchor plate. v Fig. 6 is a cross sectional View taken through the anchor plate and the striker.

Fig. '7 is an elevation lustrating a double type l of striker.

rangement, conceals from view the heads ofv the V Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a View showing the underside of the striker.

Fig. 10 is a perspective of the anchor plate for the double type striker.

Fig. l1 is a sectional View taken through the striker and anchor plate.

Figs. 12 and 13 are sectional views similar to Figs. 6 and 11 respectively showing a modied arrangement for concealing the edges and joint between the members.

The bolt member, so far as its structure is concerned, forms no part of the present invention` as it may vary instructure and may vary in 70 its manner of attachment. Suiiice to say this member may comprise a base or housing 1, a reciprocable bolt 2 which may carry a roller 3, and a handle 4 which may be manipulated to retract the bolt. This may be attached to a swinging closure or door 5. A portion of the cabinet or other structure defining the opening which the door is to close is illustrated at 6, andthe striker may be attached thereto.

The striker comprises an anchor plate and striker member and the anchor plate is shown in Fig. 5. It may havea plate-like body 10 provided with apertures l1 advantageously counter-sunk for receiving the heads of screws or bolts, and it may have al raised member 12 of wedge or dovetail shape. This dovetail member may increase width substantially from one longitudinal edge of the plate 10 to the other, and it may increase in depth so that substantially its greatest depth is at the wide portion of the dovetail. This is illustrated in Fig. 2. The small end of the dovetail, as at 13, may be set back from the adjacent longitudinal edge of the plate 10 while the larger end of the dovetail preferably lies flush with the opposite longitudinal edge of the plate as illustrated in Fig. 2. This dovetail is preferably undercut to thus provide a groove 14. This anchor plate may be secured to the cabinet as above described by` screws or bolts passing through the apertures 11, and as shown in Fig. 2, wood screws 15 may be used.

The striker proper comprises a, body v16 which may have an inclined surface 17 against which the bolt strikes. A1n the present instance where the roller 3 is used, the roller'strikes the surface 17 so that when the door is forcefully closed the bolt is caused to retract and then the same shoots forward so as to underlie the hooked portion which provides the surface 18. The striker hasa base 19 which, on its underside, is provided with lis a dovetail groove or recess 26, the interior configuration of which is designed to nicely t the dovetail 12 of the anchor plate. This groove has a bead-like formation 21 extending around its walls which is designed to iit into the undercut 14 of the anchor plate. In mounting the striker, the anchor plate may be rst secured to the supporting structure 6 by means of wood screws or the like, and then the striker is slipped over the anchor plate with the dovetail 12 interfitting with the recess 20. and securely holds the two together, and due to the interconnecting bead and undercut, the striker is held fast to the anchor plate. Means are preferably provided to prevent the striker from slipping off the anchor plate. Such means may take the form of a suitable screw, either a wood screw, machine screw, or bolt, for the reception of which the striker may be provided with an aperture 22 and the anchor plate with an aperture 23. As shown in Fig. 2 these apertures align, and a wood screw 24 may be passed therethrough and is imbedded in the support 6. The dovetailed anchor' plate and strikervmay be held in. place without final securing means, for eX- ample, by pressing together in a press fit.

Accordingly, it will be observed, particularly by reference to Fig. 1, that no securing devices are visible. The force which is required to hold the door closed is communicated from the striker to `the anchor plate through the means of the interconnected dovetail and recess, thence to the screws 15. force as it may merely perform the function of preventing the striker from slipping off the anchor plate. The head of the screw 24 is entirely concealed when the door is closed, as illustrated in Fig. 1, and when the door is open it is substantially concealed by the striker itself` and is only observable by relatively close inspection. In ordinary use where close inspectionvis not made, the head or" the screw 24 may not be seen at all. The striker and the anchor plate may each be made of one integral piece of metal as for example, of die cast metal, although itis within the invention to construct these elements from different pieces suitably attached together.

A double type striker is illustrated in Figs. '7' to 11. The same reference characters are applied to the bolt members, doors and the like to eliminate duplication o-f description. As shown in Fig. 2, two doors 5 may close adjacent a center structural piece 6.

The anchor plate may comprise a base 30 with screw apertures 31, and a wedge or dovetail member 32, undercut as at 33, and this anchor plate may be secured to VtheA supporting structural member` 6 as illustrated in Fig. 8 by screws 34. The anchor proper may comprise a base provided with a groove or recess 36 and it has double striker portions 37 and 38 extending from its body 39, one for each bolt. The anchor plate may be secured rst to the supporting structure 6, and then the striker proper may be mounted upon the anchor plate by slipping the same thereover with the dovetail fitting into the recess, and then the two may be locked together by means of a screw 40 passing through aligned apertures 41 and 42 in the striker and anchor plate respec tively. Where this double striker is usedv on refrigerator cabinets, for example, the latches are as a rule positioned below the horizontal plane of the eyes of the average person. Accordingly itis preferable to yhave the locking screw 40 positioned below. the bodySQ-of Vthestrikerso that This is preferably a snug fit;

Screw 24 need not take any of such it is concealed from view. The screw 40 may alsd be disposed angularly as shown.

In the specification and in some of the claims use is made of the term screw. By using this term the language is materially simpliiied but it is to be understood that this term is to cover all equivalent securing devices having heads with bodies passing through yor into the supporting structure such as bolts, variousr types of screws, or rivets. An arrangement may be employed wherein the edges of the members and the joints between them may be concealed. This may be done by forming the base of a striker member with depending flanges which lap over the base member as shown in Figs. l2 and 13. Where the members engage by sliding action, three sides may be thus concealed. In the single type striker the upper, the lower, and the side near the door may be concealed, and in the double type, all edges may be concealed except the lowermost one which is normally out of view anyway.

I claim: f

1. A striker for a latch comprising lan anchor plate adapted to be mounted on a support by headed elements extending through the plate and into the support, a striker member having a` base for tting over the anchor plate for concealing the heads and having a body portion projecting therefrom` for cooperating with another latch member, said anchor plate and striker member having interfitting vdovetail shaped projection and recess formations for -holding the two together, and also having aligned apertures positioned in close proximity tothe projecting body of the striker member, said aligned apertures being adapted to receive a screw or the like passing therethrough and into the support for holding the striker member from movement relative to the anchor plate which would tend to disconnect them, whereby the head of said screw -or the like is substantially concealed by the body of the striker member.

r'2. A striker for a latch, comprising an anchor plate .having a body portion adapted to lie substantially ush against asupport t0 be secured thereto by screws or the like, a dovetail shaped projection positioned substantially centrally on the anchor plate and having undercut' side. walls, said projection increasing in height from its narlrow end to its wider end, a strikermember having' a base substantially of the same size and shape asthe body portionof the anchor plate, said base having a dovetailr shaped recess therein with undercut side walls, and open at its wide end and -closed at its narrow end, Vand which increases in depth from its narrow end to its wide end, said striker member being adaptedto t over the anchor plate withthe projection and recess intertting and with the base of the striker -member covering and concealing the an-V chor plate and screws or .the like. l

3. A striker-for a latch, comprising an anchor plate having a body portion adapted kto lie substantially flush against a support to besecured thereto by screws or the like, a dovetail shaped-n projection positioned substantially centrally on the anchor plate and having undercut sidewalls,

a striker member having a base substantially of the same size and shape as the body portion of ythe anchor plate, said base having r'a dov'etail shaped recess therein with vundercut side walls, and open at its wide end and closed at 'its narrow end, said striker member lbeing adapted to t over Athe anchor vplate with the 'projection and intertting and Vwith thefbase fofljj:

I'eCeSS the striker member covering and concealing the anchor plate and screws or the like, the anchor plate having an aperture extending through the projection and its body, and the striker member having an aperture extending through a wall of the recess, which apertures are adapted to align when the anchor plate and striker member are fitted together for the reception of a screw or the like for locking them against movement.

4. A striker for a latch, comprising an anchor plate having a body portion adapted to lie substantially ush against a support to be secured thereto by screws or the like, a dovetail shaped projection positioned substantially centrally on the anchor plate and having undercut side walls, a striker member having a base substantially of the same size and shape as the body portion of the anchor plate, said base having a dovetail shaped recess therein with undercut side walls, and open at its Wide end and` closed at its narrow end, said striker member being adapted to fit over the anchor plate with the projection and recess intertting andi with the base of the striker member covering and concealing the anchor plate and screws or the like, the anchor plate and striker member each having an aperture therein which are adapted to come into alignment When the members are tted together for the reception of means for locking the anchor plate and striker member together, and anges on some of the edges of the base portion of the striker member adapted to t over some of the edges of the body of the anchor plate to conceal the joint between the anchor plate body and the base of the striker member.

WILLIAM SCHNELL. 

